Iraq proving to be hopeless case

Is civil war in Iraq inevitable?

Edward Wong, Sabrina Tavernise, New York Times.

"The sectarian violence that has shaken Iraq this week has demonstrated the power that the many militias here have to draw the country into a full-scale civil war, and how difficult it would be for the state to stop it, Iraqi and American officials say.

The militias pose a double threat to the future of Iraq: They exist both as marauding gangs -- such as those responsible for much of Wednesday's mayhem -- and as sanctioned members of the Iraqi police force and army.

The insurgent bombing of a major Shiite shrine on Wednesday, followed by a wave of killings of Sunni Arabs, has left political parties on all sides clinging to their private armies harder than ever, complicating U.S. attempts to persuade Iraqis to disband them.

The attacks, mostly by Shiite militiamen, are troubling not only because they resulted in at least 150 deaths across Iraq, but also because they reveal how deeply the militias have spread inside government forces. The Iraqi police, commanded by a Shiite political party, stood by as the rampage spread.

After watching helplessly as their mosques and homes burned, many Sunni Arabs said they should have the right to form militias, too."

Both Shiite and Sunni Arab political leaders in Iraq are making public pleas for calm, but as expected, each side is accusing the other of mounting revenge attacks since last weeks bombing of the golden-domed Askariya shrine in Samarra.

This does not surprise me for one moment. I am of the opinion now that Iraq is not going to be able to form an all inclusive government to run the country for the same reason most Muslim countries cannot. Sectarian differences. This is why in my opinion, most Arab countries are dictatorships. They need to be told what to do, when to do and how to do it.

Other then the mass killings of the Saddam Hussein era, some can make the argument that the Iraqi people in general may have been better off under this dictatorship rather then the situation they have now. I do not support this argument.

I have been in full support of the war in Iraq and the U.S. administration from the beginning. I thought the Iraqi people were going to be able to form a viable government for the people, but I'm having serious doubts about that now.

This leaves us in a very serious predicament with regard to our military. Because the situation over there is so unpredictable we're in a no-win situation, again.

We (the U.S.) currently have 130,000 troops in Iraq. President Bush has been resisting calls to set a timetable for their departure, emphasizing the need for stability in Iraq. I'm no longer sure we can wait for this stability and that we aren't making it less stable by being there. General George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, has said that "fairly substantial" numbers of U.S. troops could leave this year, starting in the spring.

We are trying to fight an insurgency, but it is becoming very clear that we fighting against Iraqis who are fighting against themselves. Again, a no-win situation. I think it is now obvious that we make a slow, calculated withdraw, a serious consideration.

A civil war between parties may not be as bad as everyone thinks. Right now in Iraq a minority is causing most of the problems. A democracy is about the majority, not the minority, ruling.